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Saw this at the weekend, definitely surprised. Hint before the flop, it was a loaned player.

I couldn't resist so I looked up the list. I never would have guessed #1. Yedlin was #5. Still fast! Not surprisingly, no Spurs in the top 12. It's not something Pochettino values that highly, I've noticed.

Dortmund is very well run, and walks the tight rope of giving young guys chances while also being very good. The Brandt and Hazard ones are tough because by all sounds of it Brandt wanted to stay in Germany and Hazard made it clear he was either going to Dortmund or was going to let his contract run down.

Dortmund probably are gonna need to let an attacker or two walk, though, I fear they simply have too many to keep everyone happy with their minutes.

Don't shoot the messenger as I don't believe this is true, but an Italian news service is reporting Guardiola is going to Juventus. Juventus stock price has jumped 5% on the news, but again, it sounds VERY farfetched.

That one's been going around for a while but has been denied by named people in both countries, with both teams, including Pep himself directly. But hey, the soccer world is nuts so who knows!

The rumor has been out there but the reason this one is making a splash is that it's being reported by a legit news service and Juventus "declined comment" on the report. At least, this is the reason the market is bullish on Juve this morning. Juve fans seem as skeptical as we are, for what that's worth.

BTW, I would be fascinated if Pep took the Juve job just to see how he and an aging Ronaldo would get along. That could be a great soap opera. The Agnellis would have to have some big balls to create an immovable object meets an irresistible force situation to manage. Probably easier just to buy the refs again.

Juventus needs a pretty significant tear down. Even if Pep went there, I feel like waiting a couple of years would be good for him. I also think another season or two at City could really drive home how special this team is. I would take them over the field to win the league.

Juventus needs a pretty significant tear down. Even if Pep went there, I feel like waiting a couple of years would be good for him. I also think another season or two at City could really drive home how special this team is. I would take them over the field to win the league.

My guess is he does one more year at Man City and then leaves. He did 4 years at Barca and 3 at Bayern and both times left on his own terms.

Serie A is in a really interesting place, but- and I acknowledge this isn't really how the world class managers seem to think- going to Juventus seems like the least interesting thing to do. You have the champions league upside, sure, but you also have the chance to be the guy to break the 8 year (!) league title run.

Conte to Inter is good. I hope Milan can attract someone big, too, and I hope Ancelotti stays at Napoli a bit longer.

I understand the same could be said about going to Man City- it's easier to win there than at most other places. But the Premier League is quite obviously a lot more competitive than Serie A at the moment.

That game was so exasperating. It’s more than a bit unfair of me to dump an entire systems problems in the U20s but all I could think throughout the second half was “when did a men’s US team last win a game of note?” Given the quality in this squad that seems to exist this team should be able to progress to the knockout stage I would think and to come up short in the first game was disappointing. I’m just looking for something to cling too for US soccer but it feels like since the 2016 Copa America run to the semi final that we have done #### all.

Chelsea’s preparations for Wednesday’s Europa League final have endured another serious setback after N’Golo Kanté suffered a knee injury in training which is expected to rule him out of the showpiece in Baku.

Kanté is understood to have damaged the knee in a session on Saturday and departed the pitch in clear discomfort, with Chelsea’s medical staff due to assess the joint on Sunday afternoon to ascertain the gravity of the injury. However, their initial impressions are believed to have been far from promising.

The end of the Inter/Empoli game was madness. Inter needed a win for CL and Empoli a draw to stay up. Inter held the league for most of the game, with Empoli getting a second half goal. Inter went ahead late, and Empoli, pouring men forward, had a great chance that ended up hitting the crossbar in the 90th minute and had another great chance in injury time. Inter cemented their lead with a 94th minute empty net goal and Empoli went down.

Today is going better than Friday. Sebastian Soto has a brace and the US has a 2-0 lead on Nigeria early second half. I missed the first half but the second goal came right at the start of the second half and it was a great run and little chip.

So now the US are in really good shape. If this lead holds I think they just need to beat a bad Qatar team to advance. If we give up one goal and win by one then it gets a bit trickier but we still should be in good shape.

I just read about Sheffield United's last time in the EPL (1-year run in 2006-2007), where they were overtaken by Carlos Tevez's West Ham. Tevez (and Mascherano?) turned out to have been ineligible due to third party ownership and West Ham ended up paying Sheffield United 20 million pounds in subsequent court cases. I wasn't watching the EPL back then.

If I have the information right, Sheffield United was comfortably in 17th place (technically 16th, but Man. City had a game in hand and better GD, just a point behind), 6 points out of the relegation zone, and a full 11 points ahead of last place West Ham, but West Ham won 7 of their last 9 and Sheffield United finished 18th.

Problem is, it's not Ajax they have to convince ... it's de Ligt and everything I've read says he prefers Barca more than more money (since Barca will still give him a crap ton of money)...

Also ... DAMN YOU GOD, I KNEW IT WAS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!!!!!

- In a move that will make those of us over the age of 30 feel incredibly old, Napoli have pulled the plug on the signing of Kieran Trippier ... because of his age. The 28-year-old right-back is said to not fit Napoli's transfer strategy, and instead they're keen on switching their attentions to someone younger with a potential greater resale value, says The Sun.

just read about Sheffield United's last time in the EPL (1-year run in 2006-2007), where they were overtaken by Carlos Tevez's West Ham. Tevez (and Mascherano?) turned out to have been ineligible due to third party ownership and West Ham ended up paying Sheffield United 20 million pounds in subsequent court cases. I wasn't watching the EPL back then.

If I have the information right, Sheffield United was comfortably in 17th place (technically 16th, but Man. City had a game in hand and better GD, just a point behind), 6 points out of the relegation zone, and a full 11 points ahead of last place West Ham, but West Ham won 7 of their last 9 and Sheffield United finished 18th.

The Blades were 10 points clear at one point in early 2007, but that was before a run of tough fixtures. They were undone by a couple of bad errors costing them points, a broken leg to top scorer Rob Hulse, Neil Warnock's cowardly approach away from home (lost to all the top 12, 8 goals in 19 games) which he still practices to this day, and West Ham cheating and the PL letting them get away with it.

Sheffield United's 13 year curse:

1968 - relegated from old Division 1 after losing at home to Chelsea in last game of season.
1981 - relegated to fourth division after losing at home to Walsall and missing a last minute penalty, with another result going against them. United were relegated with a positive goal difference and were only in the relegation places for the last 5 minutes of the season.
1994 - relegated from Premier League after losing to last minute goal at Chelsea with 3 other results going against them, including Everton's dubious 3-2 win over Wimbledon
2007 - relegated from Premier League after losing at home to Wigan whilst West Ham won 1-0 against a feeble Man Utd with Tevez scoring the winner. David Unsworth, who had missed a penalty for United in a 0-0 draw against Blackburn in September, scores the winner for Wigan from the penalty spot
2020 - well, they are favourites for relegation...

De Ligt 's problem is that his agent is Mina Raiola. Football players seem to be like baseball players, they take the money where its highest. I am shocked though at the agent fees. In football you can essentially bribe the agent to funnel the players to you. None of the players seem concerned that their agents are making huge money off their efforts.

Howie
Liverpool are the 2004 Red Sox. Deep and loyal fans. Rich history but haven't won a championship in decades.

Tottenham are the Ny Mets. Like the Mets in the shadows of the wealthy and decorated Yankees, Tottenham have until recently been of little consequence to deep and rich London rivals.

The true neutral fan favors Liverpool because of its compelling coach, unique style of play, total team commitment, and fabulous offensive stars.

The best neutral fan wouldn't mind Tottenham winning. While there is nothing negative about Tottenham, simply they lack charisma. There is no narrative to the Spurs. Their star, Harry Kane, is England's last hope for glory. They're the underdogs but have squeaked through to the Final game, like NC State in 1982.

I should be headed to the n17 now but my vacation rental is in limbo and I’m stuck at a bar in Shoreditch waiting to find out where I’m staying tonight. This place is a dead ringer for alphabet city. So far I’ve seen one spurs shirt, one pool shirt and one Oakland A’s hat! Go A’s!

There is no narrative to the Spurs. [...] They're the underdogs but have squeaked through to the Final game, like NC State in 1982.

That's the narrative to Spurs. Survive and advance, they're the Cardiac Pack, the team of destiny (with a major goal scored by the Hip of Destiny that the world's slowest Spaniard is somehow possessed of), the team that spent £0 on the transfer but still win with everyone hurt and suspended because they are coached by a mystical Argentinian bear. Their wins over City and Ajax were wildly improbable, and not (unlike Liverpool's improbable comeback over Barca) simply the result of a great team playing to maximum capacity and overwhelming its opponent. They were the result of fate's interference in human activities!

Appreciate the offer Shooty, but looks like I'll be watching with family. They're all Spurs so I'll be leaning Liverpool, but I won't be unhappy if there are celebrations on the wrong side of north London tonight.

I'm pretty much a total neutral here (okay, LFC for the win), and I'm nervous waiting until only 13:00 MDT. Imagine how hard waiting until 20:00 BST must be for the fanatics (and yes, I am asking some of you this question)?

Liverpool are the 2004 Red Sox. Deep and loyal fans. Rich history but haven't won a championship in decades.

League championship. They won the Champions League in... holy hell, it can't have been that long ago... 14 years ago still rounds down to one decade though.

As for which team a neutral should support? 6 one way, half a dozen the other really. They both have things going for them, and some things that might turn you off. Both, as noted, have not been super successful, in recent past. But both teams are still fairly spoilt (says the Newcastle fan) simply by virtue of being successful PL teams. You are not going to get any true Cinderella teams at this stage of the CL, it is virtually impossible. Even Ajax, who would have no doubt been considered one, had they made the finals, have more domestic titles than you can shake a stick at.

Liverpool's manager Klopp tends to play a style that is very appealing, especially to casual or newer fans to the game. An extreme high press when not in possession of the ball, and a much more direct approach than most other top teams, who tend to prefer to play more of a possession game. It tends to be exciting, high energy, and is prone to leading to big chances, often on both ends of the pitch.
Pochettino on the other side, tends to be much more flexible and versatile. Though all else being equal, does typically prefer a methodical build up while in possession.

Both teams will be fielding very strong starting players I-XI, though I would say Liverpool's best players are clearly attacking minded, and I would look for Mane to set the pace early for them, while Salah is set to pounce on any openings that provides.
Spurs' best players I would argue are more defensive minded. Lloris in goal, and Vertonghen and Alderweireld in front of him. Though they do have threats up front, especially Son and Eriksen.

If you are unsure, and have like 20 minutes to burn, I would recommend just sitting through the highlights of the second legs of the semi finals for each team, and pick whichever side you enjoyed most.. Both featured somewhat incredible comebacks, and some really nice football. So if you don't find anything you like there, you will likely be having a bad time tonight anyway ;)